Lyon president confirms approach for Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud as striker admits doubts of Emirates future
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LYON have made an approach to sign Arsenal's Olivier Giroud to replace Alexandre Lacazette.
The Gunners are close to finalising a move to land Lacazette in a £57million deal.
And the French club's president has admitted that he has spoken to Giroud personally ahead of a summer move.
In an interview with French publication L'Equipe, he said: "There has been an approach, at some point, for Giroud. He is a boy that we like, who scores lots of goals and who has a lot of ambition for Russia (World Cup).
"He told me personally that he wanted to take his time, that things were not completely defined with Arsenal, that he had a secret hope that he would be the number one striker next season.
"The key is Arsène Wenger. We are watching.
"We will try to very quickly sign a top European attacker.”
Olivier Giroud factfile
- Born in Chambery, France in 1986
- Started his professional career with Grenoble before moving to Tours in 2008.
- After 33 goals in 73 apps for Montpellier, he moved to Arsenal for £9.6m
- Has over 60 caps for his country
- Won the Ligue 1 title with Montpellier
- Three FA Cup trophies with Arsenal
- Finished Ligue 1 top scorer in the 2011-12 season
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The 30-year-old struggled to become a regular in Wenger's side last season with just 11 league starts.
But he still proved his worth with 12 goals as Arsenal lumbered to a fifth place finish.
And it appears Giroud is already plotting for the future after being spotted by fans at Lyon's airport on Saturday.
West Ham have also been linked with a move for Giroud but the lure of playing back in his home country may prove too irresistible.